Just a little bit fancy.

Lesson 4: Gateau Fraisier

Sponge cake again today but this time we got to make it fancy and even more delicious then what we have done previously to a sponge cake.

When the cake was in the oven we made a Creme Patissiere and turned it into a mousseline. YUM!

Creme Patissiere
500mL milk
125g sugar
50g corn flour
3 eggs yolks
1/2 vanilla bean
25g butter

To make a creme pat whisk half the sugar and eggs yolks together, adding the corn flour next and whisking again till all combines. Heat the milk with vanilla and remaining half of the sugar till just boiling and pour over egg mix. Return to the pan and cook on medium heat until you get bubbles coming through the bottom and cook for another 30 seconds. Take off the heat and stir in the butter. Pour into a clingfilm lined tray and cover with more clingfilm to avoid a skin occuring. Once cooled slightly, place in fridge to chill.

To make mousseline
1 batch x creme patissiere
250g soft unsalted butter

If anyone has watched my favourite movie 'Julie and Julia' they would see why I say butter makes everything delicious and this time it is crazy how delicious this turns out. This has been whisked into submission... seriously!

To make Mousseline whip butter till light and fluffy with no lumps. Whip cold creme patissiere until smooth (you can add a splash of alcohol here if you like). Combine butter and creme patissiere and whisky until they are combined.

Putting our Gateau Fraisier together: 

We made the sponge cake in a square tin (20cm x 20cm) and when cooled completely (chef said it is better to do this the next day but as we have only one day at TAFE we did it the same day) we sliced it in half horizontally and brushed off any crumbs. We spread the base with chocolate then placed it in the fridge to set. We did this so the cake has a bit of structure to the bottom and doesn't stick to the cake board (not sure this was a good idea as on the car trip home I drove even more like an old nanna so my cake didn't slide in its box).

marsipan flowers in the making.

Place chocolate side down on a cake board and brush the top with sugar syrup. Spread a layer of mousseline over and line it with cut strawberries having the fat end of the strawberries facing out. Spread another layer of mousseline over the top, covering the strawberries (careful not to put too much on here). Place the other half of the cake on top and press down lightly and evenly. Brush more sugar syrup over the top and spread a final thin layer of mousseline on top. Place in the fridge to firm up.

While it is in the fridge roll out some marsipan and add your desired colour to it or leave it natural. Leaving some extra to start the fun stuff.

Once the cake has firmed up place your rolled out marsipan over the cake, trim the edges with a bread knife and glaze the top.

For the fun stuff we make flowers to go on top of our cake. Chef made them so quick in class it was a whirl wind so a girl in my class showed me. I also asked the pastry chef at work and he showed me a way to do them too. I will have to do a picture step by step to show you how. Words will do this no justice and only confuse both you and me.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the pictures and fancy-ness of this post.